No Escaping the Mind
by Whoufflehugs
Summary: The Tardis is breached, landing the Doctor and Clara in the middle of a war unlike any other- a war of the Mind.
1. Chapter 1: A Detour

**Hey guys, welcome to this madness. Just a general disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot. Though I wish I did.**

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><p>After another sleepless Tuesday night, Clara awoke to the most beautiful sound in the universe.<p>

Sure enough, the mad man and his ridiculous blue box sat outside, the same spot it was waiting for her every Wednesday. Which was how Wednesday quickly became her favourite day; all of the stress in the world was bearable with the thought that Wednesday- more specifically, the Doctor- was right around the corner.

She hardly had time to slip on a fresh dress and apply her makeup before the Doctor came stumbling through the door.

"You'll never guess where we're going today Clara! There's this little valley on new earth that- "

"Doctor!" Clara interrupted, nearly dropping her hairbrush as he burst into her room. "What did we say about the knocking? Five minutes earlier and I would have thrown you out my window."

"Why would you do that? There's no time to wait five minutes," he whined, taking her hand and dragging her down the stairs.

Clara laughed, snagging a jacket before they ran out the door and into the Tardis with a snap of the Doctor's fingers. "Doctor, you never finished telling me where we're going!"

"Ah, yes, right!" The Doctor looked over at her from the console like an excited schoolboy. "It's lovely- I don't know why I've never taken you before. It's called Sakura Valley, on a little planet called Osculous- debatably one of the most beautiful places in the universe. It goes into blood once every century- just wait until you see it, Clara, you'll love it!"

Clara couldn't help it- though she denied it- when her heart fluttered at the way he smiled at her, the way he tried to hard to make her happy. Sometimes, she wished every day was a Wednesday, sometimes she wanted to escape, travel the universe forever. But she had no idea what the Doctor thought of her; was she just a pass time to him, a distraction?

Suddenly, the Doctor froze, and at first Clara was afraid he could read her mind...until he faced the machine as if it had shocked him. "Doctor?" She asked, stepping up beside him as he stared at it in confusion. The Tardis landed with a jolt, the console falling ominously silent. "What is it?"

"I don't know where we are," the Doctor whispered, falling back. "Something else is controlling the Tardis. Stay here."

With that, the Doctor approached the door and opened it hesitantly. As soon as he was sure it was safe he took one step, two steps outside, scanning the surroundings...

And he hardly had time to warn Clara before his mind exploded with a deafening pain and he crumpled to his knees.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading this and hopefully you'll stick around! I have a pretty good idea for how this is going to go and I'm really excited about it. Make sure to leave a review, I'd love to know what you thinkhow I could improve!**


	2. Chapter 2: a Disputant

**Hey guys! Thanks to those of you who left wonderful reviews, I really appreciate it so much! Sorry I'm slow to post, finals are coming up and I've got no free time. But I've managed to throw together another chapter! Disclaimer: I still own nothing.**

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><p>The moment the Doctor went silent, Clara knew something was terribly wrong. She could tell by his reaction that the Tardis had landed somewhere the Doctor really didn't want to be; he'd gone so quickly from excitement to dread.<p>

Normally, Clara wasn't one for following orders, but when he told her to stay put, just this once, she listened. That is, until she heard a sharp cry, almost too soft to be heard, followed by that same deafening silence.

"Doctor?" She called out quizzically, creeping to the door of the Tardis and peering outside as the Doctor had done earlier.

Clara froze as she was met with a horrifying image, one she never thought she'd see. The Doctor was unconscious, crumpled on the ground in some outrageous position. And suddenly, Clara was just a little bit terrified. Whatever had caused this, it was strong enough to take down a Time Lord.

She knelt down and pressed the back of her hand to his forehead, brushing his hair back. He was cold to the touch and absolutely unresponsive.

Gradually she was aware of her surroundings; empty white sand, the land flat and exposed and stretching for miles on end. But most of all, the silence was deafening. Nothing stirred, no voices were heard, no wildlife or weather. Nothing. So what, in this ridiculous wasteland, had hurt him?

The more Clara thought about it, the more her head ached...until she realised it didn't quite feel like a normal headache. It was searing pain, as if someone had stabbed her through the skull. Everything was white, blinding, the ringing in her ears grew to a deafening roar. She felt her legs give out, rough sand scraping against her hands and knees until she couldn't feel a thing.

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><p>Minutes, hours, days, maybe even years passed; Clara was timeless until she woke in a small, white room. Everything was too bright, too clean, too...perfect.<p>

Soon her thoughts drifted to the Doctor. Was he safe? Clara didn't know how she'd live with herself if he'd gotten hurt on her account.

Suddenly, a door popped open on the other side of the room. A tall, bleached-blonde man walked in, peering over at her through dark-rimmed glasses. His eyes were ice and his face was thin, though when he spoke, he wasn't nearly as cold as she would have imagined.

"I see you're finally awake. Probably confused. Your friend is fine, by the way, I know you've been wondering," he told her, glancing down at the orderly clipboard in his hand.

Clara stared at the man for a long time. Though she could have sworn that there wasn't a door in the room when she'd woken up, and there was no way he could have known what she was thinking. It was probably just a lucky guess. "I'll be the judge of that. Where have you taken him?"

"No need to be harsh! We haven't done anything to him," the man defended himself. "Strange, though. Most people's first thoughts are along the lines of 'where am I?' Or maybe even, 'am I dying?' Funny that you haven't question who I am, or where you've woken up. Funny how easily you've come to trust your surroundings."

"Are you suggesting I should be afraid of you?" Clara asked, a challenge, a dare. Something about this man told her yes, she should be very afraid. But men like him didn't scare Clara Oswald. Men like him were dangerous, but Clara was clever, and it all came down to wits in the end.

The man pierced her with his icy countenance, setting the clipboard on a table she hadn't noticed before. "Oh, not at all. I would never dream of threatening the infamous Clara Oswin Oswald. Though I would strongly advise against making the wrong enemies."

She met his gaze unwavering. "Just tell me where I am so I can find the Doctor and get the hell out of here."

"Very well," the man sighed, adjusting his sleeves and correcting his posture. "Some call it a war zone, some call it a prison. Here, we call it The Circuit. Surely you've noticed that the door, the table, even the decorations on the wall have changed. It's because I wanted them to. And how I knew your name, how I know about the Doctor? This isn't just some strange coincidence," the man continued, before vanishing completely out of sight. Yet she could still his voice resonating through the halls, bouncing off the walls in her head.

"We're not just in some hospital room, Clara. We're inside your mind."


End file.
